Leicester City committed to King Power expansion

Article posted by Coliseum, May 31^st, 2019

Image: Martin Handley

Leicester City Football Club went through a patch of uncertainty after the tragic death of owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha last October. The Thai billionaire was succeeded by his son, Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, who promptly reassured fans that plans to expand the club’s home, the King Power Stadium, will not be abandoned.

The late chairman had envisioned Leicester City to be a mainstay in European competition, and accordingly wanted the capacity of King Power Stadium to be increased. Currently the ground holds 32,312 – the twentieth largest in England. However, the renovation will catapult the stadium into the top ten largest in the country.

Now the question remains how soon will the expansion plans set into motion?

Proposed stadium expansion work was recently detailed in a report by Leicester Mercury.

City have purchased six-and-a-half acres of land behind the East Stand, which is understood to be the stand that will be developed along similar lines to the Anfield expansion in Liverpool, the Mercury stated.

However, City are still at the very early stages of planning what they will do to increase the capacity, which could see King Power host crowds of around 40,000, and what form the expansion will take, including which facilities and which type of seating will be included, the report added.

Anfield’s main stand development cost them £110 million but boosted their revenue on matchdays by £12 million per season, due mainly to an increase in hospitality income, the report stated.

Work is expected to be completed by the summer of 2020.

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